After nightmarish 2018, GlenOak football ready for turnaround

Joe Scalzo @jscalzoREP

Saturday

Aug 10, 2019 at 5:44 PM

The Golden Eagles went 1-9 last season but have been energized under new coach Beau Balderson

On Tuesday afternoon, as GlenOak was finishing up its first practice session of the day, Golden Eagles quarterback J.T. Cooke dropped back, fired a pass straight into the numbers of one of his receivers and … watched it bounce off his chest.

One of the GlenOak defenders quickly ran over and yelled, “Hey, I’ll make sure J.T. puts it in a better place next time for you!”

It was a funny comment in a session full of them for the Golden Eagles, who are coming off their worst season in school history but seemed to have put the gloom and doom behind them. Every bruising run by a running back brought sideline chants of “Woooooooh!” Every time a defensive linemen broke through the line, those backups yelled, “Saaaaaaack!” And when those guys got a little too cocky, a GlenOak starter was ready to put them in their place, asking, “Why are you guys standing over here?”

And when the practice wrapped up and the players huddled around head coach Beau Balderson, an assistant coach yelled out, “Eyes up, mouth shut." He got what he asked for.

“For the most part, we know when to flip the switch,” said junior OL/DL Aeden Begue, who missed all of last season after breaking his collarbone on the final day of two-a-days. “We know when it’s OK to do that (talk) and when it’s time for everyone to put their hats on and get some work done.

“But in the locker room, yeah, we’re a bunch of clowns.”

When asked about the chatter, Balderson smiled and said, “A little bit goes a long way with some of these guys.”

Balderson, fresh off a successful four-year stint at Marlington, was hired to help reverse a two-year slide at what was one of Stark County’s best programs under Scott Garcia, the winningest coach in school history. GlenOak went 76-56 over 12 seasons under Garcia, winning four Federal League titles and making the postseason eight times. But the Golden Eagles slipped to 3-7 in 2017 and 1-9 last year, tying the 1998 team for worst record in school history.

Even worse, the lone win came against Royal Imperial Collegiate of Canada, which finished 2-8, including 0-4 against Ohio schools. GlenOak's nine losses all came by at least two touchdowns as the offense struggled to find an answer at quarterback after junior Kindel Richardson suffered a season-ending leg injury in the first quarter of a Week 2 loss to Massillon. Cooke led the team with 442 yards passing but was thrown into the fire before he was ready. Cooke was replaced late in the season by sophomore WR Brayden Fox, who flashed some of the family's renowned athleticism but was clearly playing out of position. (Fox transferred to Hoban in the offseason.)

“It’s always hard watching from the sideline when you know you can contribute and bring something to the team,” said Richardson, who also is a talented defensive back. “It was a long season, but we got through it.”

GlenOak enters this season with 64 varsity players and “30-some” at the freshman level, Balderson said, which is up from 17 on last year's freshman team. Balderson would like to grow the Golden Eagles' numbers at all levels, which has become a challenge for just about every program in Ohio.

“There’s a great mix of kids in our building right now and our job is to pound the pavement inside and get the best kids out to be part of this program, like they used to be,” Balderson said. “That’s going to be a total commitment once schools starts and throughout the offseason, but right now, these are the guys who really committed themselves to being part of the program and I’m looking forward to seeing what they can do.”

Having a healthy Richardson should help. The dynamic athlete set the school’s kickoff-return yardage record in 2017 (that’s not necessarily a record you want broken, but still) and gives GlenOak a potent run-pass threat in the backfield. He'll get pushed by Cooke and sophomore Isaiah Knox.

The Golden Eagles return just one all-conference player — senior WR/DB Jamiel Randle, who earned honorable mention all-Federal League — but a school such as GlenOak will always have athletes. The challenge is molding those players into a team.

So far, so good, Begue said.

“Everyone here who didn’t have the opportunity to play, or didn’t play to their full potential, wants it so much more than last year,” he said. “We haven’t had a win in so long — a real win — and everyone is trying a lot harder than last year. The weight room program this year is a lot different. Everyone made really big gains in the offseason, instead of last year when they skipped sets and everything.

“People are holding themselves accountable now. They’re apologizing when they do something wrong and not throwing a tantrum. Everyone is a lot more mature and grown up and willing to put the team above themselves to win.”

Will that attitude hold in October? Time will tell. But Richardson likes what he’s seen.

“It just feels different this year,” he said. “It feels better.”

Reach Joe at 330-580-8573 or

joe.scalzo@cantonrep.com

On Twitter: @jscalzoREP

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